Seattle looks at helipad rules after deadly helicopter crash

SEATTLE — The news helicopter had just stopped at a helipad to refuel on its way to another assignment when it crashed and burst into flames yards from the Space Needle in the heart of Seattle, killing the two men on board and seriously injuring a third man who was on fire when he escaped from his car.

It may be months before federal investigators know what caused the chopper to plummet at a busy intersection, setting three vehicles ablaze and spewing burning fuel down the street during the Tuesday morning commute.

The KOMO-TV flight was one of many helicopter flights that take off and land in Seattle’s downtown. Mayor Ed Murray said officials would review rules for helicopter pads in the city to determine if any changes need to be made.

Witnesses reported hearing unusual noises coming from the aircraft as it lifted off after refueling, said Dennis Hogenson, deputy regional chief of the Western Pacific Region for the National Transportation Safety Board.

They also said the aircraft rotated counterclockwise before it crashed near the Seattle Center campus, which is home to the Space Needle, restaurants and performing arts centers.

Bo Bain, an excavation foreman at a nearby construction project, watched the helicopter land as usual, one of many flights he has watched come and go in recent months. But he said something sounded different when the aircraft left the helipad Tuesday morning.

“It pitched sideways. It was off balance, and you could tell right away something wasn’t right,” Bain said. “The helicopter was struggling to stay up. It spun around, hit the top of the tree and landed on the street.”

Seconds later, he said: “It was just a fireball. The whole thing burst into flames. I saw people running from their cars.”

Hogenson said a preliminary report on the crash is expected in five days, followed by a fuller report with a probable cause in up to a year.

KOMO identified the pilot as Gary Pfitzner, of Issaquah. The other man killed in the crash was Bill Strothman, a former longtime KOMO photographer. Both men were working for Cahokia, Ill.-based Helicopters Inc., which owned the Eurocopter AS350 helicopter. The aircraft was leased jointly by KOMO and KING-TV.

The helicopter was a temporary replacement for one that’s in the shop for an upgrade, KOMO reported.

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Firefighters who arrived at the scene before 8 a.m. found a “huge black cloud of smoke” and two cars and a pickup truck engulfed in flames, Seattle Fire Department spokesman Kyle Moore said.

Fuel running down the street also was on fire, and crews worked to stop it before it entered the sewer.

An injured man managed to free himself from a burning car and was taken to Harborview Medical Center, Moore said. The man was on fire and KOMO reported that one of its building security guards, Brian Post, ran toward the fire to help.

“I used my hand at first and then his jacket to get the flames out,” Post, a former police officer, told the station.

Richard Newman, 38, suffered burns on his lower back and arm, covering as much as 20 percent of his body, hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg said. He was in serious condition in the intensive care unit and likely will require surgery, she said Tuesday.

Two others who were in vehicles that were struck by the helicopter were uninjured.

KOMO is a block from the Space Needle and is surrounded by high-rise office and apartment buildings. Workers at the station rushed to the window when they heard the crash. KOMO reporters were then in the position of covering their colleagues’ deaths.

One of them, Denise Whitaker, said on the street shortly after the crash: “It is a difficult time for all of us this morning.”

News anchor Dan Lewis described Strothman as someone “who really knew how his pictures could tell a million words.”

“He was just a true gentleman,” Lewis said on the air. “We’re going to miss you guys.”

The Strothman family said in a statement that the former KOMO photographer was a “great man, a kind soul, a devoted husband, a loving father and brother.”

Mark Pfitzner said in a statement that his brother Gary loved adventure, to travel and to fly. He was the oldest of seven kids and “took great care of his brothers and sister.”

Other cities have experienced helicopter crashes as TV stations rush to cover the news from above major cities.

The last helicopter crash in Seattle was in November 1999, when a KIRO-TV news helicopter collided in midair with another helicopter over Lake Union. There were only minor injuries, after both pilots landed safely at nearby helipads, according to an NTSB report.

Current rules in Seattle allow helipads to be used downtown and in some commercial zones and industrial areas. They can be used only for public service, emergency medical care and for news agencies, mayor’s office spokesman Jeff Reading said.

Two news helicopters collided in midair in Phoenix in 2007 as the aircraft covered a police chase, sending fiery wreckage plummeting onto a park. Four people in the helicopters were killed. The crash prompted changes at the stations in how they operated their helicopter crews.

In this photo provided by KOMO-TV, a car burns at the scene of a news helicopter crash outside the KOMO-TV studios near the space needle in Seattle on Tuesday, March 18, 2014. The chopper was taking off from a helipad on KOMO-TV’s roof when it went down at a busy downtown intersection and hit three vehicles, starting them on fire and spewing burning fuel down the street. Two people on board the helicopter died. (AP Photo/KOMO-TV, Kelly Koopmans) MANDATORY CREDIT: KOMO-TV

Caption 2:

In this photo provided by KIRO- TV, smoke rises at the scene of a news helicopter crash outside the KOMO-TV studios near the space needle in Seattle on Tuesday, March 18, 2014. The chopper was taking off from a helipad on KOMO-TV’s roof when it went down at a busy downtown intersection and hit three vehicles, starting them on fire and spewing burning fuel down the street. Two people on board the helicopter died. (AP Photo/KIRO-TV)

Caption 3:

Emergency personnel wheel away one of two bodies from the aftermath of a news helicopter crash Tuesday, March 18, 2014, in Seattle, Wash. A KOMO-TV helicopter crashed into a city street near Seattle’s Space Needle, killing two people and critically injuring a person in a car on the ground. (AP Photo/seattlepi.com, Jordan Stead) MAGS OUT; NO SALES; SEATTLE TIMES OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT; TV OUT

Caption 4:

KOMO-TV news producer Justin Paulsen, left, and other newsroom employees work on a story about the crash of one of their helicopters just outside the newsroom earlier Tuesday, March 18, 2014, in Seattle. The news helicopter crashed into the street and exploded into flames near Seattle’s Space Needle, killing two people on board, badly injuring a man in a car and sending plumes of black smoke over the city during the morning commute. The chopper was taking off from a helipad at the KOMO-TV station when it went down on Broad Street downtown and hit three vehicles, starting them on fire and spewing burning fuel down the street. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Caption 5:

Cindy Quiring, left, and her husband Roger place flowers at a memorial outside Fisher Plaza, home to KOMO-TV, following a helicopter crash outside the building earlier Tuesday, March 18, 2014, in Seattle. The news helicopter crashed into a city street near Seattle’s Space Needle, killing two people and critically injuring a person in a car on the ground. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Caption 6:

In this image made from video provided by KOMO-TV, smoke rises from the scene of a news helicopter crash outside the KOMO-TV studios near the space needle in Seattle, Tuesday, March 18, 2014, in Seattle. The chopper was taking off from a helipad on KOMO-TV’s roof when it went down at a busy downtown intersection and hit three vehicles, starting them on fire and spewing burning fuel down the street. Two people on board the helicopter died. (AP Photo/Courtesy KOMO-TV) MANDATORY CREDIT

Caption 7:

In this photo provided by KOMO-TV, emergency personnel respond to the scene of a news helicopter crash outside the KOMO-TV studios near the space needle in Seattle on Tuesday, March 18, 2014. The chopper was taking off from a helipad on KOMO-TV’s roof when it went down at a busy downtown intersection and hit three vehicles, starting them on fire and spewing burning fuel down the street. Two people on board the helicopter died. (AP Photo/KOMO-TV, Kelly Koopmans) MANDATORY CREDIT

Caption 8:

In this image made from video provided by KOMO-TV, smoke rises from the scene of a news helicopter crash outside the KOMO-TV studios near the space needle in Seattle, Tuesday, March 18, 2014, in Seattle. The chopper was taking off from a helipad on KOMO-TV’s roof when it went down at a busy downtown intersection and hit three vehicles, starting them on fire and spewing burning fuel down the street. Two people on board the helicopter died. (AP Photo/Courtesy KOMO-TV) MANDATORY CREDIT

Caption 9:

In this image made from video provided by KOMO-TV, smoke rises from the scene of a news helicopter crash outside the KOMO-TV studios near the space needle in Seattle, Tuesday, March 18, 2014, in Seattle. The chopper was taking off from a helipad on KOMO-TV’s roof when it went down at a busy downtown intersection and hit three vehicles, starting them on fire and spewing burning fuel down the street. Two people on board the helicopter died. (AP Photo/Courtesy KOMO-TV) MANDATORY CREDIT

Caption 10:

Emergency personnel respond to the scene of a helicopter crash outside the KOMO-TV studios near the space needle in Seattle on Tuesday, March 18, 2014. The chopper was taking off from a helipad on KOMO-TV’s roof when it went down at a busy downtown intersection and hit three vehicles, starting them on fire and spewing burning fuel down the street. Two people on board the helicopter died. (AP Photo/The Seattle Times, Mike Siegel) SEATTLE OUT; USA TODAY OUT; MAGS OUT; TELEVISION OUT; NO SALES; MANDATORY CREDIT TO BOTH THE SEATTLE TIMES AND THE PHOTOGRAPHER

Caption 11:

In this photo provided by KOMO-TV, emergency personnel respond to the scene of a news helicopter crash outside the KOMO-TV studios near the space needle in Seattle on Tuesday, March 18, 2014. The chopper was taking off from a helipad on KOMO-TV’s roof when it went down at a busy downtown intersection and hit three vehicles, starting them on fire and spewing burning fuel down the street. Two people on board the helicopter died. (AP Photo/KOMO-TV, Kelly Koopmans)